AMERICAN SHIPYARD

By Larry Pearson
For many years Houma Fabricators, Houma, La. built passenger boats, offshore boats and other steel hulled vessels much like a dozen other shipyards in the Gulf south. In the mid-90's they built several large gaming boats for Iowa entrepreneur Bob Kehl.
If you hadn't stopped by Houma Fabricators for the past two years, today you would not recognize the place. Purchased by Shipyard De Hoop of the Netherlands in 2001, the shipyard has undergone an amazing transformation with an $8.6 million expansion.
The Dutch shipyard is turning the 42-acre Houma site into a shipyard to resemble the company's main facility in Lobith, Netherlands. " So far we have added three steel preparation halls, four subassembly halls, new slipways with bulkheads and a permanent launching system," said O.M. Monnier, President and CEO of Houma Fabricators. A two two-story administrative center and engineering department has also been built.
The building of these new facilities to some extend was accelerated by a contract from Otto Candies LLC, Des Allemands, La. for five 187-ft. diesel electric supply boats. The first boat in the series was built in the Netherlands bringing the total order to six. "In effect, we have been building boats while building a shipyard," Monnier added.
The hull modules of the Candies' boat are being built in the new subassembly buildings.

With Rising Gas Prices Fueling SPR Speculation, American Vessel Operators Urge Feds to Work With Industry To Prepare For Future Drawdowns. Foreign Ships Given Preference During Last Summer’s Drawdown.
In a letter to the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Energy (DOE) and Transportation (DOT), the American Maritime Partnership (AMP), a broad-based coalition representing U.S.-flag vessel operators and allied interests

When it comes to large tugs, none is larger than the Laney Chouest, the world's largest anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel. At 348- x 72- x 31-ft., the Laney Chouest is the king of all tugs in the Gulf of Mexico, or anywhere else for that matter. It was built by the North American Shipbuilding, Larose, La. a part of Edison Chouest Offshore, Galliano, La. who also owns and operates the vessel.
The vessel is super efficient since it is designed to do several jobs that formerly needed

In its first public statement on the Jones Act, the Bush Administration has declared the law must be maintained as “an essential element of U.S. maritime policy that provides important economic and national security benefits to the nation, such as support of the U.S. shipbuilding and ship repair industries, and maintenance of a labor base of skilled American mariners.”
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta made the statement in response to a written question following his confirmation

The SCRA-led National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) announce $2.5 million award funds for new applied research and development projects
The NSRP is a collaboration of American shipyards working together to reduce the cost of building, operating and repairing US Navy ships by developing and applying advanced technology and processes. The projects will be executed through the NSRP Ship Production Panels

Even if, as Marcon International’s Bob Beagle says, barges are the workhorses of the towing industry, then the pushboats that propel the 38,000 (documented and undocumented) deck, hopper, tank, crane and miscellaneous purpose barges to their destinations are the heart and soul of the most efficient – and greenest – means to move cargo known to man. This month, we take a close look at what’s developing for both types of hulls; in terms of design, markets

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (Oslo: AKPS), a leading U.S. commercial shipyard, delivered to American Shipping Company (Oslo: AMSC) the shipyard’s twelfth Veteran Class MT-46 product tanker. The 46,000 dwt vessel, named the Overseas Tampa, will leave the shipyard in the coming days under the operation of Overseas Shipping Group (OSG) to transport petroleum products.
The on schedule delivery of this ship marks the successful conclusion of a historic shipbuilding program that began in April

Conrad Incustries announce First Quarter 2012 Results & Backlog
For the quarter ended March 31, 2012, Conrad achieved net income of $3.2 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.52 compared to net income of $3.7 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.58 during the first quarter of 2011. The Company's more detailed financial reports are available here.
Conrad's backlog was $70.8 million at March 31, 2012 compared to $47.1 million at December 31, 2011 and $112

BAE Systems joined with Mid Ocean Tanker Company (MOTC), Mid Ocean Marine and Alterna Captial Partners earlier this year to commission the American Phoenix, a U.S. Flag/Jones Act-qualified product-chemical tanker.
Measuring 616 x 105 ft. with a laden draft of 36 ft. and a cargo capacity of 49,000 dwt, American Phoenix is the largest vessel ever built and launched in the State of Alabama.
BAE Systems was contracted to complete construction of the American Phoenix and prepare it for use

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding division partnered with the American Heart Association to teach shipbuilders how to perform hands-only CPR during a demonstration Thursday. The American Heart Association provided the shipyard a mobile CPR unit for on-site instruction and take-home kits to promote hands-on practice with family and friends.
With more than 300 employees in attendance, representatives from the HealthWaves wellness program were onsite to greet

Green Marine, a North American environmental certification program for the marine, port and terminal industry, officially recognized the Port of New Orleans recently as a certified Green Port.
The Port of New Orleans is the 8th U.S. Port to reach certification in the voluntary environmental

American Cruise Lines announced the name of its new Mississippi paddlewheeler – America – currently under construction at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Md.
The America is American built, flagged and crewed, which is symbolic of the true all-American experience

Akastor ASA announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Kristian Røkke as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Røkke will succeed Frank O. Reite, who will take the position of Chief Financial Officer at Aker ASA.
Kristian Røkke

The American Equity Underwriters, Inc. (AEU) presented its 2014 Safety Awards at the annual American Longshore Mutual Association, Ltd. (ALMA) Conference on July 19, 2015, in Key Biscayne, Fla.
AEU, which provides solutions for workers’ compensation coverage under the Longshore and

Nordic American Offshore Ltd. executive chairman Herbjorn Hansson weighs in on Mediterranean Sea migrant crisis, stating his company’s PSVs are capable and ready to perform rescue operations, if contracted.
We are all too familiar with the tragedy that is unfolding in the

ABB announced today it will start production of robots in the United States, making it the first global industrial robotics company to fully commit to and invest in a North American robotics manufacturing footprint. The company made the announcement at the opening of a new robotics plant

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) applauded Senate passage over the past weekend of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015), and today sent a letter to House leadership to urge making passage of TPA-2015 a priority.

When the expansion of the Panama Canal is complete, liner shipping companies will finally be able to use larger vessels. Hapag-Lloyd has therefore ordered five state-of-the-art ships.
Hapag-Lloyd has ordered five modern container ships from the South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy

The new photo book, Avondale: A Model for Success, tracks the story of an American shipyard from its humble beginnings in 1938, through years of growth achievement, up to its eventual acquisition in 1999.
Book team leaders, Rene Pierre Meric, Jr. and Philip J

San Diego Military2Maritime Career Fair with Rep. Hunter (R-CA) Connects California Veterans With Opportunity.
More than one hundred veterans attended a Military2Maritime career fair on Monday June 22, 2015 from 10:00am until 2:00pm at the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier in San Diego, Ca

The Port of Bellingham is poised to change the layout of 7.66 acres of industrial property in Fairhaven and build new infrastructure to support the expansion of two major waterfront employers, All American Marine and Fairhaven Shipyard.
“All American Marine and Fairhaven Shipyard provide

“The prosperity of the United States is inextricably entwined with that of the rest of the world and international trade agreements provide stability and equity enabling increased trade,” said American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) President and CEO Kurt Nagle in

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard ASA has appointed Jan Ivar Nielsen as Chief Financial Officer effective September 2015.
Since 2009, Nielsen has held the position of CFO of VARD Holdings, a publicly listed global designer and builder of offshore and specialized vessels with 10 facilities

ShipServ, the leading marine and offshore marketplace with an expected annual trade of $3bn in 2015, has cemented its position in Asia with the opening of a new office in Singapore.
The office will be managed by ShipServ’s VP of Sales Sharon Gill and will be open for business from